Nell Clasby - the First Shipper
by FunkyBetsy
Summary: This was prompted by a comment I saw on tumblr about Nell shipping Lucien and Jean long before the rest of us joined in. And then I couldn't let it go until I wrote this.


Jean had come to look forward to Nell Clasby's appointments over the last few months since Lucien Blake had taken over his father's surgery. While Nell had long been a patient of the elder Dr. Blake, the previous doctor had been so meticulous in his schedule that Nell had barely ever sat down in the waiting room before being ushered straight through.

Now, with Lucien's more lax scheduling and appointment handling, Jean found that she had the time to sit and chat with Nell before each appointment. She loved the little insights that Nell was able to give her into Lucien's character and past; it helped her understand him better, particularly in those first messy days when she still wasn't sure if he would stay or go.

At least she had found the time to sit with Nell, that is, until recently. In fact, when Nell showed up at her latest appointment, the only reason she needed to wait at all was because she was actually 10 minutes early, her niece having dropped her off on the way to an appointment of her own.

"Nell!" Lucien exclaimed, hurrying past, "You must excuse me, I'm not quite finished with a previous patient yet, but I'll be with you soon."

"That's quite alright," Nell smiled at him, "I'll just talk to Jean for a bit; I feel as though I haven't had a chance to catch up for ages, despite the fact that I was here just last week!"

Jean smiled to herself. She liked the older woman immensely, and often invited her into the kitchen for tea while they waited for Lucien to turn up from wherever he had gone off to.

"I'm so sorry you need to wait again, Nell," Jean told her as she brought in some tea. "It must get tiresome, always sitting here when you could be off doing something else."

"Oh, I don't mind," Nell chuckled, good humoredly. "After all, it's my fault this time. When my niece offered to drive and save me the cab fare, I couldn't say no. And, you know, Jean, the wait times have been getting much shorter of late. Your doing, I'm sure. You've been such a good influence on Lucien since he returned."

Jean looked slightly abashed. "Well, somebody has to keep after him," she said briskly as she poured out the tea.

"No, no, dear; take credit where credit is due. He's been looking happier, more settled on the whole lately, and I'm sure you have something to do with it." Nell nodded her head at Jean, as Lucien popped his head into the reception area.

"Nell! Come on through. Tell me, how are those new pills treating you, hmm?" he asked as he ushered her into the surgery. Jean sighed, but then looked after their retreating forms thoughtfully. Things weren't going quite as well as Nell seemed to think they were, but maybe she was partially right; the doctor had at least settled down slightly in regard to the hours he kept with his patients. And maybe it was her doing; she had certainly put a flea in his ear about it enough times.

Time passed. Lucien left for China. Nell died. Lucien returned, and the world kept turning. Occasionally, when Agnes Clasby would stop into the surgery, Jean would be reminded of that last conversation she had had with Nell. Was she really that good of an influence on Lucien? Was it her that had helped him settle, even slightly. The thought was enough to make her blush, often causing her to turn her attention elsewhere, cleaning something in the house with ferocity.

But the thought was always there at the back of her head. She was good for him. She was a good influence on him. And that thought in turn pushed her to push him – to force him to live up to standards that she hadn't even realized she held for him.

And little by little, she found herself wanting to meet him there. To raise her own standards, to want more for herself as well as for him.

And what did she want? Not to settle, she had already found that out quickly when faced with the possibility of a proposal from another man. She wanted… more. She wanted… Lucien himself, his energy, his kindness, his belief in man, and she wanted whatever it was between them that made them both strive for more, to strive to be better versions of themselves.

And so on her wedding night, as she sat nervously on the edge of the bed, waiting for Lucien, Jean found herself thinking back to the first few weeks after they had met, and those words that Nell had said to her, about how kind he was, and about how he needed someone. And she smiled, "Thank you, Nell."

It seemed from this point looking back, that Nell had seen the future and had known exactly what to say to push them both along the road to where they needed to be.


End file.
